Sink enclosure



July 11, 1950 s. 5. SMITH SINK ENCLOSURE Filed March 24. 1950 2Sheets-Sheet 1 mnnmn I l l l I I //2 1 1 I l sfs. SMITH 2,515,099

SINK ENCLOSURE 2 sheets-Shea a July 11, 1950 Filed March 24, 1950Patented July 11, 1950 unites STATES PATENT omce SINK ENCLOSURE SidneyS. Smith, Dorchester, Mass, assignor to Edward Levy, Newton Center,Mass.

Application March 24, 1950, Serial No. 151,720

4 Claims. (Cl. 312236) This invention relates to sink enclosures andmore particularly to enclosures for sinks which have overhangingperipheral aprons, but which are normally entirely open beneath.

Several decades ago it was fashionable to construct sinks for kitchensand the like with open spaces beneath them with ready access forcleaning, etc. Such sinks generally were composed of heavy cast ironwith enamel finish and had overhanging peripheral aprons. Various itemsused in connection with the sink were generally stored beneath on hooks,etc. Recently, however, the emphasis has shifted toward enclosed storagespace, with the result that prefabricated cabinet sinks are nowinstalled wherever possible in new construction. when renovating oldinstallations, however, a difi'lcult problem is presented because, whilethe sinks are unsightly, they still have many years of useful life. Ifit were possible to en'- close them in an attractive manner, by adurable structure, and at low cost, the remaining useful life of suchsinks could be saved. However, until the present invention, the cost ofsuch enclosures has been so near to the cost of new cabinet sinkinstallations that the old sinks have generally been ripped out andjunked.

It is an object of my invention to promote the more economical remedy ofrenovation of old installations by providing a sink enclosure which willbe attractive, durable, and of such low cost both in materials and laborthat there will be virtually no comparison between the cost of itsinstallation and the cost of a new cabinet sink.

Another object or my invention is to provide a sink enclosure'which willbe simple both in construction and installatiomcomprise few parts, andbe dimensionally adaptable to fit outmoded sinks of various sizes.

It is a feature oi my invention that it is fabri cated entirely of sheetmetal, and comprises only seven basic members. Further features includeadjust/abilityv between these basic members both for length and width,and hidden means for firmly securing the basic members both to the sinkand to the floor. These, and other features-of my invention to bedisclosed hereafter, render the enclosure of my invention attractive,durable and less than one fifth the cost of a comparable prefabricatedinstallation.

Further'objects and features of my invention will best be understco'dandappreciated from a detailed description or preferred embodiment thereofselected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanyingdrawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective of an old style sink fitted with theenclosure of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a view in perspective of one of the length extension plates ofthe enclosure;

Fig. 3 is a view in cross section of an old style sink fitted with theenclosure of my invention;

Fig. 4- is a view in perspective of one of the width extension plates ofthe enclosure;

Fig. 5 is a sectionalplan view of one end of the enclosure indicating inbroken lines suitable locations for the holding wedges; i

Fig. 6 is a sectional view in side elevatllhi the lines 6-6 of Fig. 5,with a portion broken away through the middle; and

Fig, 7 is a view in front elevation of one end of the enclosure likewisewith a portion broken away through the middle.

The preferred embodiment of my invention herein shown includes in itsgeneral organization a pair of opposed end walls l0, width extensionplates I2, length extension plates 14, and a front wall assembly It. Asshown in Fig. 1 these mem bers are assembled in the space beneath a pon-I8 which has one or more bowls 2D and an overventional, cast-dron,enamel-flnished sink hanging apron 22.

End walls H] are fabricated from standard gauge sheet metal, and aredimensioned to extend from the floor up into the space between bowl 20and apron 22 of a sink at standard height. In width, end walls l0 extendfrom a point near the rear of the sink forward and around the frontalong corners, being pre-formed to coincide with the rounded corners orthe sink itself. End walls at are formed complementarily to eachother atopposite ends of the sink and therefore only one such end wall will bedescribed in detail. As will be I along its entire top. The bottom edgeof end wall I I0 is bent over to form a double-thickness margin aroundthe curved front corner and at a point adjacent to the rear, but it isbent onl at right angles along its mid-portion to form a flange 24,

suitably perforated to receive screws for securing the bottom of endwall Hi to the floor. It will be seen that end walls It may be providedwith flanges 24 both top and bottom, and therefore may be of identicalconstruction to be used interchangeably on either end. At each end, inthe portions of the margins that are bent double, a

narrow slot is provided to receive the width and length cit-tensionplates l2 and lflrespectively where appropriate. Wlien installed and inplace,

l2 fits into the slots provided by the bent-over margins of the end wallI adjacent to the rear.

, In this Way width extension plates [2 are free to slide in telescopingrelation with the end wall 16 and render it adaptable for use with sinksof various widths. I

The front wall assembly is indicated at l6 and is shown in detail inFigs. 5 and 7. It comprises a group of spot welded sheet metal elementsforming a top panel 32, a bottom panel 34, side panels 36 to which arehinged doors 38, one on each side, and an inset toe space at the bottomdefined by end panels 42, a horizontal panel 44, and a back panel 40.Suitable right angle flanges .are provided across the rear of the panelsof front wall assembly IS in order to insure structural rigidity.

Length extension plates M are similar in construction to width extensionplates l2, being provided with a securing flange 46 and a structuralflange 48 extending along their vertical margins. The length extensionplates M are bolted at each end to the front wall assembly l6 as maybeseen 'in Figs. 5 and 7, and as with plates l2, fit in sliding andtelescoping relation into the slots provided by the bent-over margins ofthe end wall In, both top and bottom.

, It will be understood that the depth and width 1 extension platesherein shown will accomodate ,a majority of the expected depth and widthvariations in standard sinks, but that unusual variations may beaccommodated by fabrication of a larger extension plate withoutsubstantial idifficulty.

The back plate 40- of the lower extremity of the front wall assembly 16is provided with a rearwardly extending horizontal flange suitablyperforated to receive screws for securing the front wall assembly to thefloor. The upper extremity of the front wall assembly I6 is held firmlyin place by a wedge 26 which is driven-into the space between the bowl20 and the upper panel 32, compressing itfirmly against the apron 22;The exactlocation of wedges 26 is not critical other than to insuresufficient marginal support adjacent to the aprons 22. However, it willbe seen that wedges 26 are substantially horizontal. The reason forpositioning wedges 26 horizontally is that the under surface of thecast-iron bowl 20 is substantially-rough and the wooden wedge the endwalls ID are flrmly compressed against 26 has no difiiculty adhering toit without slip- I ping, whereas it is important to drive the wedge inas near to perpendicular to the apron 22 as I possible in order tominimize chances of slipping between the smooth sheet metal and thewedge 26.

The assembly of the enclosure of my invention is extremely simple, andmerely entails first positioning the end walls I0, next securing the endwalls to the floor and fixing their upper margins with wedges 26, thenadjusting width extension plates l2 to abutthe wall and securing them tothe said wall, then positioning front wall assembly l6, adjusting lengthextension plates M to abut front wall assembly [6 at each side, boltingthe length extension plates [4 to the front wall assembly [6, securingthe front wall assembly to the floor, and securing the upper margin ofthe front wall assembly with wedges 26. It will be understood, ofcourse, that these latter mentioned steps may be done with door 38 inthe open position to permit access to the inside of the enclosure. 7

I Since minor variations of this preferred embodiment of my inventionwill be apparent to those skilled in the art, it is not intended toconfine the invention to the precise limits of the enclosure hereinshown, but rather to measure the invention in terms of the appendedclaims.

Having thus described and disclosed a preferred embodiment of myinvention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent ofthe United States is:

1. An enclosure for the under part of a sinkof the type which isconnected to a supporting wall and which has both a sink bowl and anoverhanging peripheral apron, said enclosure comprising an end wall ateach end of said sink, said end walls having portions thereof bent topro vide grooves at each end adjacentthe tops and bottoms thereof, awidth extension plate connected to the rear of each of said end walls insliding relation therewith in'said grooves and se cured at its other endto said sink supporting wall, a forward wall for said enclosure, alength extension plate connected to the front end of each of said endwalls in sliding relation therewith in said grooves and secured to eachend of said forward wall.

2. An enclosure for the under part of a sink of the type which isconnected to a supporting wall and which has both a sink bowl and anoverhanging peripheral apron, said enclosure comprising an end wall ateach end-oi said sink, said end walls having portions thereof bent to.provide grooves at each end adjacent the tops and bottoms thereof, awidth extension plate connected each of said end walls in sliding andtelescoping relation therewith in said grooves and secured to saidforward wall at each end thereof in the front of the said enclosure, andmeans for securing said end wall and forward wall both at the base end 7to the floor and above to the sink.

3. Anenclosure for the under partiof alsink of i the type which isconnected to a supporting wall and which has both a sink bowl and anover'-' hanging peripheral apron, said enclosure comprising an end wallat each end of said sink, said end walls having portions thereof bent toprovide grooves at each end adjacentthe tops and bottoms thereof, saidend wall extending-in width H from a point near the supporting wall toapointaround the forward cornerof said sink, a widthextension plateconnected to each of said end walls in sliding and telescoping relationin said grooves and secured to said sink supporting wall in the rear, aforward wall forsaid enclosure, a length extension plate connected toeach-of said end walls in sliding and telescoping relation insaidgrooves and secured to said forward wall: at

each end thereof in the front of said enclosure,

4. -An enclosure for theunderpart ;of a ink of the type which isconnected to a supporting wall and has both a sink bowl and anoverhanging peripheral apron, said enclosure comprising an end wall ateach end of said sink positioned inside said apron and constructed toextend in height from the floor up to a point between the bowl and theapron and in width from a point near the supporting wall in the rear toa point around the forward corner of said sink, said end walls havingportions thereof bent to provide grooves at each end adjacent the topsand bottom thereof, depth extension walls, said end walls each adaptedin the rear to receive a depth extension wall in sliding and telescopingrelation in said grooves, means for securing said depth extension wallsto the supporting wall, means for securing said end walls to the floor,length extension walls, said end walls each adapted in the front toreceive a length extension wall in sliding and telescoping relation insaid grooves, aviarward wall, means for securing said length extensionwalls to said forward wall, means for securing said forward wall to thefloor, and wooden inserts wedged between the upper parts of theenclosure walls and the underneath side walls of said bowl.

SIDNEY S. SMITH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis Patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number ."Name Date 1,116,015 Clifiord Nov. 3, 19141,853,989 'Nu'ebel Apr. 12, 1932 2,074,780 Deinack Mar. 23, 19372,202,107 Korn May 28, 1940

